


a triangle is the strongest shape

by Curlscat



Category: The Sisters Grimm - Michael Buckley
Genre: Other, Polyamory, Relationship Negotiation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-19
Updated: 2020-08-19
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:02:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,438
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25994176
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Curlscat/pseuds/Curlscat
Summary: For a tumblr prompt: "I Don't Want You." Puck crashes Sabrina's wedding, expecting that their love and his presence will be enough to make it work. He's wrong, but not for the reasons he thinks he is.
Relationships: Bradley/Puck Goodfellow, Puck Goodfellow/Sabrina Grimm, Sabrina Grimm/Puck Goodfellow/Bradley, Sabrina grimm/Bradley
Comments: 4
Kudos: 20





	a triangle is the strongest shape

**Author's Note:**

  * For [EstrangeloEdessa](https://archiveofourown.org/users/EstrangeloEdessa/gifts).



> the prompt was supposed to be Puckabrina, and i imagine they wanted angst, but I figured this fandom needs more poly content and EstrangeloEdessa told me about this headcanon a long time ago so I decided to write it out. It's what we deserve.  
> ALSO IF ANYONE WANTS TO DO A SENSITIVITY READ ON MY BRADLEY CHARACTERIZATION PLEASE LET ME KNOW

“I don’t want you,” Sabrina says, and it’s wrong.

“I— what?” Puck asks. He doesn’t know what to— he— how— what?

“You can’t just—” Sabrina waves at the room around them, at the crowd of people on their left, the stained glass window he just broke on their right. “You can’t just  _ show up at my wedding _ and expect me to take you back, Puck! That’s not how this works!”

“But I—” Puck says.

“What?” Sabrina snaps. “Thought it was a big romantic gesture? Thought I was doing this to  _ get your attention _ ? Wake up, Puck! That’s not how the world works!”

Puck feels his face start to crumble. No, no,  _ no _ . He will  _ not _ cry. Not here, not in front of all these people. He just— he thought he’d have more  _ time _ !

Puck’s poker face must not be as good as he thought it was, because Sabrina’s face softens. “I’m not saying never,” she says. “I mean, I still— you’ll always be my first love. But right now? Bradley’s only here for a few decades. Let me have my time with him while he’s here, won’t you?”

And that’s that.

* * *

Except, of course, that it’s not.

Things are never that simple, and as much as Sabrina thinks she’s mature and Better Than This and all that, she’s not, and she’d never be happy with “normal.” And deep down, somewhere, she knows this.

She does.

So anyway, Puck has stuck around, against his better judgement. Hoping. Sabrina and Bradley are married, but they keep, like, asking Puck to hang out? Inviting him over for dinner at their nice new apartment full of nice new kitchen appliances and nice new weapons (turns out Bradley is a professional fencer, which is neat. Not that Puck, like. Likes Bradley or anything. He hates him. Is jealous of him.)

Today, Puck has let his broken heart convince him to take the walk from Faerie to their apartment. Sabrina sent him a text suggesting that he come over for dinner. No time frame or anything, just “Burgers?”

He rocks back and forth on his heels as he waits for someone to answer his knock. They’ve got some kind of squishy-looking plant on their stoop. Its leaves are way less two-dimensional than most leaves Puck has seen, and they’re tipped with red. It’s a nice little spiral. Puck thinks he likes it. Can he steal it?

The door opens, and Bradley stands behind it. Puck sees why Sabrina fell for him. That big crooked smile, those rich brown eyes… And he always looks genuinely happy to see Puck, which is so weird because Sabrina has been perfectly open about still having feelings for Puck. She hasn’t done anything about it, and has shut down any attempt he’s made, but the wedding wasn’t the last time she told him she loved him.

“Puck!” Bradley says. “I wasn’t sure what time you’d get here! C’mon in, I’ll get the burgers started.”

Puck trails after Bradley into the kitchen. It’s painted a cheerful yellow, with red tile countertops. Everything smells like fried food and warm spices, and music in a language Puck doesn’t speak filters through the open window, which faces out onto the little back patio every apartment in this building has. Through the kitchen they go, and out onto that patio, where Bradley starts putting burgers onto a tiny red grill. There are more fat-leaved spiral plants out here.

Puck fingers the leaves of one of them, leaning against the iron railing of the patio. There isn’t a lot of space for two people out here. “What is this?” he asks.

Bradley glances over, sees the succulent Puck’s messing with. “It’s a hen and chicks,” he says. “I like succulents. They’re hard to kill, and they remind me of home.”

“Home?” Puck asks.

“New Mexico,” Bradley says wistfully. “It was so much warmer, there.”

“Right?” Puck asks. “I’ve lived here for— I don’t actually know, I stopped keeping track, but I still miss the heat.”

“Where are you from originally?” Bradley asks. “If— is it somewhere I’d know about? I know Sabrina said some Everafters are from— other places.”

“Greece, sorta?” Puck answers. “Also Ireland. Also neither. I dunno. Geography used to be a lot different, y’know? Before someone decided to separate the magic world from the regular world ‘for everyone’s safety.’ Before so many of us got stuck on this side.”

“Ay,” Bradley agrees. “We know a little about that, my family. We were Mexicanos, and then they went and decided where we lived wasn’t Mexico anymore, and now it’s all ‘go back to your own country!’ Like senor, we were here way before your sunburned ass decided to move out here.”

The conversation dies there, and for a minute there’s just the sound of sizzling beef and music that Puck can’t understand, will never understand, will never be part of.

“Where’s Sabrina?” Puck asks.

“Therapy,” Bradley says.

“She still does that?” Puck asks, surprised. He knew she’d gone after the war, for a little bit, but he sorta assumed… she seems so much happier, these days.

“Yeah,” Bradley says. “She tried to stop, but then she started getting all angry again. And the nightmares started up again.”

“Oh,” Puck says. One more thing he doesn’t know about Sabrina. They used to know everything about each other.

Another lull in the conversation. Bradley’s humming along to the music. And it’s just— Puck can’t stand it, all of a sudden.

“You don’t have to be nice to me, y’know,” he says. “Just because— I mean— you can tell me to butt out and I’ll go. I don’t need you to, like,  _ pity _ me or whatever just because Sabrina—”

Bradley stops humming, turns a knob on the grill, and turns to look at Puck. “She said you wouldn’t get it,” he says softly.

“What?” Puck demands.

“Have you ever heard of polyamory, Puck?”

“No?”

“Wait, but— I thought Daphne would’ve— no?”

Puck shakes his head.

“Great,” Bradley says, making a face. “Right, so. Sometimes. People love more than one person at a time, yeah?”

“Sure?”

“Right,” Bradley says. “Some people, when they do that, cheat on one of the people they have feelings for. This is Bad and those people should feel bad. Cheating is a betrayal of trust. Polyamory, on the other hand, is when you have feelings for two or more people, and you talk it out with all the people you have feelings for, and if they’re all interested, you date some of them. Sometimes all at the same time. Sometimes not.”

“Wait, so like— Marshmallow’s not just cheating on all those boys?”

“I sure hope not,” Bradley says with a laugh. “Seeing as she and I met at a support group for polyamorous people.”

“Oh,” Puck says. “What does this have to do with me?”

Bradley raises his eyebrows. Waits.

“Wait—” Puck says again. He thinks he gets it. “You and Sabrina want to— with me?”

“Well, I mean,” Bradley says. “It doesn’t have to— it looks different with different people. We don’t have to just the three of us all date each other and only each other. It could be, you and Sabrina date and Sabrina and I are married and maybe someday if I meet someone I get feelings for, I date them, or if you get feelings for someone else, you date them. And for it to work… you and I don’t have to be best friends or anything, but I think— I think we could be friends, if you wanted.”

“I… think I need to think about this,” Puck says. “And like… talk to Grimm.”

Bradley laughs. “Then you’re already on the right track. Poly is  _ all about _ talking.”

* * *

Bradley is so very, very right. The next several months, it feels like nothing  _ but _ talking. When Sabrina gets back from therapy, they talk about it. When Puck comes over again, they talk about it. When they go on their first date, they talk about it. When Puck realizes he’s still jealous of Bradley for getting to have a house and a life with Sabrina, they talk about it. When Puck says something that hurts Sabrina’s feelings for real and it makes Bradley mad, they talk about it. When Sabrina asks them both to go on a date with her, they talk about it.

Weirdly enough, Puck doesn’t hate it.

Bradley goes on a few dates as time passes. He brings one or two of them home to meet Sabrina. Puck is there. That part?  _ That’s _ what’s weird. Because like, it’s just… it’s weird to watch other people holding Bradley’s hand. It’s not weird seeing Sabrina do it, but watching other people touch Bradley? Kiss him? Puck doesn’t know what to do with that. Which is just. Weird. It’s all weird.

He tells Sabrina this one night when it’s just the two of them, and she bursts out laughing.

“It’s not funny,” he grumbles. “And if you keep laughing, I’m never gonna tell you things and then you’ll be sorry.”

Sabrina sobers herself with a visible effort, then says, “I’m sorry, Puck, it’s just— you don’t know what this is?”

“What what is?” Puck asks. He tamps down on the rising indignation he feels.

“You  _ like _ him,” Sabrina says. She’s grinning. “ _ That’s _ why you dumped mustard on him yesterday.”

“I— no?” he says it like a question.

Because, okay, so Puck has— Puck has… there was a boy, once. That Puck.. he didn’t love him. Sure as hell didn’t  _ grow up for him _ or anything. But there was a boy. And Puck didn’t want to just be his friend. And then the boy grew up and Puck didn’t consider doing the same, and then the boy got old and Puck still wanted him the same way. And then he died. Very tragic, yeah yeah whatever.

But the point is that Puck is not what you would call straight (he’s lived for long enough that he remembers when gay was something you  _ did _ , not something you  _ were _ , but he figures he’d probably call himself bi, in today’s lingo). So having feelings for Bradley? That shouldn’t exactly be a surprise or anything. He knows what  _ feelings _ feel like.

So Sabrina has to be wrong. What Puck feels about her and what he feels about Bradley are very different animals. The idea of, what, kissing Bradley? Holding his hand? It’s—

Oh.

Oh okay.

So maybe she’s not as wrong as he thought.

Puck buries his face in his hands, overwhelmed by the sheer idea of getting to hold Bradley’s hand. Of getting to hold Bradley’s hand in one of his and Sabrina’s in the other. Of walking down the street like that. It’s— it’s a lot. And he… would like it. A lot.

Sabrina pats him on the back in consolation. “I know,” she says.

“Fuck.”

* * *

Puck doesn’t tell Bradley about his realization. It’s too— he can’t ask for that. What if Bradley says no? They’re  _ friends _ now, both part of Sabrina’s life and each other’s (metharmors or something, Bradley called them). It’ll be so  _ weird _ to have that hanging between them. Or worse, what if Bradley says yes, but just to  _ avoid _ the awkward?

He considers running off. Jake doesn’t go on trips quite as often anymore, now that he’s all “settled down” and stuff, but he’s sure to have something Puck could do if he wanted to. Or he could just— disappear again.

For some reason, he doesn’t. He stays. Maybe he hangs out at the apartment a little less when Sabrina’s not there, but he doesn’t leave, easy as it would be. Must be part of this nasty growing up thing he’s doing.

Sabrina keeps giving him expectant looks, as if she’s waiting for him to come out and  _ tell Bradley how he feels _ or something, which— does she know him at all? Why would he ever? If Bradley doesn’t get it from Puck dyeing his hair orange (it was supposed to be white, but maybe he didn’t use enough bleach), Puck sure as hell isn’t gonna  _ tell him _ .

He’s over for dinner one Wednesday, eating more of Bradley’s plantanos than he probably has a right to, when Sabrina grabs her phone, looks at it for a second, and in an overly loud, super obvious voice, says, “Daphne’s calling me. I need to take this. You boys don’t get into any trouble without me.”

Puck glares at her retreating back. “She used to be a lot better at lying,” he tells his plantanos.

Bradley laughs a little. “I don’t think she was trying very hard.”

“So,” Puck says, looking up at Bradley.

“So,” Bradley agrees.

“She told you?”

Bradley nods.

“And?”

“That’s up to you,” Bradley says.

Puck blinks. “What?”

Bradley shrugs. “If you wanted to keep it to yourself, we can pretend we never had this conversation. Everything will go back how it was. But if you want… I like you, Puck. I’d be willing to try something out, if you are.”

“What if it doesn’t work out?” Puck asks. “What if we try, and, and— and we fight, or I’m too  _ much _ , or I can’t take you still dating other people, or, or—”

Bradley reaches out and places his hand over Puck’s, and Puck shuts up.

“We won’t know unless we try,” Bradley says. “And— I’ve been in closed relationships before, Puck. It’s not what I’m naturally inclined to, but I can choose to do it, for someone I care about. And if I can handle Sabrina, I’m sure you won’t be too much.”

Puck laughs. “Fair.”

Sabrina comes back in then. It’s obvious she’s been listening in. “So?” she asks.

Puck grins at her, and then back at Bradley. “Why not?” he says. “Let’s give it a try.”

* * *

It’s not happily ever after, of course. Bradley’s mortal, and neither Puck nor Sabrina are. Sabrina wants to age with her husband (or at least, she does until the first time she pulls a muscle and it takes over a month for it to heal), and Puck doesn’t want to get any older, even out of love. Biologically, one of their daughter’s is Puck’s and the other is Bradley’s. That’s not fair to either girl, and it’s hard on all three of the parents. Sometimes Puck gets jealous. Sometimes Sabrina gets angry. Sometimes Bradley feels left out Puck and Sabrina’s world.

But they talk about it, sometimes reluctantly and sometimes willingly. And they love each other, on purpose. Because they chose to. And because they put in the work, they are mostly happy for a long, long time.


End file.
